Rabs Atwal
HYDRAQUIP CELEBRATES ITS 25th ANNIVERSARY
Tuesday 12th August 2014
Today meet Rabs Atwal
Marketing Manager HYDRAQUIP Group
I was always one of a small number of people at my school who knew what they wanted to do when they left. After completing my A Levels I moved from Kent to a university in London to complete an honours degree in Product Design & Computing. This involved a blend of creative thinking with scientific analysis that focused on marketing principles and strategies, from mind mapping, to concept idea’s, research, ergonomics of the design and build, to identifying the market worth of the product and place. This also involved the production of digitally designed flyers, exhibition displays to CAD designed and fully manufactured prototypes.
Whilst studying for my degree – I worked in retail at Bluewater in Kent, a place where credit cards were annihilated, at the high end ladies’ fashion store. I served many well known footballers and their wives, news presenters and celebrities alike. It was satisfying seeing them wearing the items I had put together for them on National TV and knowing how the outfits had come together as a result of my input. After finishing my degree I started looking for a full time career in marketing with my initial sights set on something fashion or IT related, but this was short-lived as my path soon changed after seeing a job advertisement for a Hose company, Hydraquip who were recruiting for a sales and marketing assistant in Rochester.
I am a person who actively seeks new challenges and am never afraid to explore new opportunities. For this reason, marketing a product in an industry that I knew very little about was very appealing! Since setting up the company’s marketing department I have actively contributed my marketing efforts in response to Hydraquip’s rapid expansion to become the UK’s largest provider of Hose and Hydraulics. As a result of gaining a greater understanding of the products that the company supplies, I have been able to take ownership of a range of marketing channels to ensure each product and service is accessible to our wider target audiences. Since joining the company in 2007 as a marketing assistant, my role has developed and grown to its current status as Hydraquip’s Group Marketing Manager.
If it is printed or is branded Hydraquip, then there’s a good chance it has crossed my desk at some point. I am responsible for managing areas of marketing from the initial idea right through to the final execution. This involves the set up of effective processes and the delivery of key concepts through various marketing channels, communications and other mediums. The blend of creative thinking with scientific analysis that focuses on the principles of marketing strategies strongly underpins the promotional campaigns that I initiate to create brand awareness to drive the company forward. No one day is ever the same for me, it is very rare that I work on a single project at a time as there are always a multitude of projects which are all equally as important as each other. It’s just a good job that I can multi-task, and am an organised person – even if I do say so myself!
Contrary to popular beliefs, I do have a life beyond Hydraquip! Family and friends are really important to me and I am a great believer in exploring different possibilities – try everything you can at least once before you dismiss it is my motto. Fishing is a recent example which I tried and quickly realised…. it was definitely NOT for me. I am a practical person– apart from when it comes to domestic chores, which are definitely not a priority on my To Do List… I am, however, programmed to enjoy parties, the civilised ones of course! My husband and I enjoy going to music concerts and have been lucky enough to go backstage to see Ne-Yo and Mary J Blige; we plan to see Usher in the near future. I do also follow the unwritten female codes of loving to shop, enjoying beach holidays, reading and I most definitely couldn’t live without my GHD’s (aka hair straighteners) which in the event of a breakdown lead to the creation of an exclusion zone around me by everyone else. Next time, I might try calling Hydraquip’s 24hr call out number next time to see if they can help?
Meet The Team